Thursday, March 29, 2018

Day 273-Rent-PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh-Power of Love




Rent in 1996  was one of the first rock operas to hit Broadway. It chronicles an unforgettable and inspiring year  of seven poverty struck artists in a NYC Greenwich Village flat determined to follow their dreams (art for art’s sake) but  they can’t  pay  the  rent.  Being a practical person, my first thought about this plot was “get a job, so you can pay the rent” but, when I first experienced this  show, I  became immersed in the music. This rock opera  emulates the power to overcome adversity in the shadow of  HIV/AIDS with diverse forms of love.


Reflection

Rent is on a 20th Anniversary Tour. I was surprised by its popularity.  Opening to a sold out crowd, I talked to many people who had seen this show 4 or 5 times!


 As an opera with  non- stop music, Rent  humanizes  those inflicted by disease (HIV/AIDS) and humanizes all types of loving relationships. I think it withstood the test of time because this show is really about our need for meaningful friendships and relationships. I cried and laughed during Rent as I rode the roller-coaster  of  life’s joys and tribulations along with these artiest.      

The show opened with  the young unconventional  bohemians, who are squatters in a NYC flat, defiantly singing, “We’re not going to pay this year’s rent… last year’s rent” (Rent).  Mark (Sammy Ferber), an aspiring filmmaker, filmed the year in the life of his friends and captured their struggles and dreams.
Light My Candle-Mimi and Rodger*

Rodger (Logan Farine), a musician with a new HIV diagnoses, in the song One Song Glory struggled, “one song before I go- glory- one song to leave behind”. Roger meets Mimi (Paola Hernandez) and an attraction emerged when she playfully teased him during the song, Light My Candle.  In the humorous song, Tango Maurine , we learned of a love triangle between Mark and  performance artist, Maurine (Lyndie Moe), who recently  left  Mark for  Joann (Jasmine Easler).


Maurine and Partner Joann*

One of my favorite  moments  in the show was when Angel (Aaron Alcaraz) and Collins (Jarred Bedgood), a male couple, expressed  their tender affection in  I'll Cover You. They sang,Live in my house, I'll be your shelter, Just pay me back with 1000 kisses. Be my lover and I’ll cover you”.

I"ll Cover You-Angel and Collins

With little dialogue and continual music in an opera, being able to discern the lyrics is paramount. At times the rock band in this production overpowered the vocals. Still, the show pulsed with Mimi’s powerful Out Tonight and the company’s La Vie Boheme, and of course, Seasons of Love  

In  Seasons of Love,  the  entire cast resonated that love is what really matters in our lives,  singing: “ Five hundred twenty- five thousand six hundred minutes- How do you measure, measure a year? In daylight? In Sunset? In midnight? In cups of coffee? In Inches? In miles? In Laughter? In Strife?...How about love? Measure in Love”.

In Rent, even though HIV disease  is  the thread woven through  these relationships, we experienced the  beautiful tapestry of their lives as they lived for today (Your Eyes/Finale). With AZT there was new hope for living, “not dying from disease” and “at the end of the millennium [they’re] you’re not  alone”.

The musical Rent is a compelling  reminder that what matters in this world is the love that is given to you and  the love that you give! ( See Rent on Broadway live here).

 (Rent runs from March 27 to April 1, 2018 at Heinz Hall. For tickets go to TrustArts.org. Also don't miss the 2018-19 PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh season which was  just announced here)

*photos are of the Broadway cast

Spiritual Reflection
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God-For God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  (1 John 4:7-9)

Other Sources